


Jemma and the Seven Fitzes

by AgentOfShip, blancafic, LibbyWeasley



Series: Jemma and The Seven Fitzes verse [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alien Technology, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crack Treated Seriously, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff and Humor, Implied Masturbation, Implied Sexual Content, Multiplicity/Plurality, Season/Series 01, Ward Gets Punched
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:21:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21636535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentOfShip/pseuds/AgentOfShip, https://archiveofourown.org/users/blancafic/pseuds/blancafic, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LibbyWeasley/pseuds/LibbyWeasley
Summary: While examining a mysterious alien object, Fitz accidentally activates it and undergoes a startling change. Will he be able to pull himself together in time to complete the team's latest mission?
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons
Series: Jemma and The Seven Fitzes verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1631689
Comments: 70
Kudos: 108
Collections: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Round Robin Event





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the AoS Round Robin 2019 challenge (and completed way, way past the deadline, but hey it’s here!). Based on a fantastic idea by AgentofShip!
> 
> Authors attributions for each chapter:
> 
> Chapter 1: blancafic*  
> Chapter 2: LibbyWeasley  
> Chapter 3: AgentofShip
> 
> *As the author of Chapter 1, I want to thank my awesome co-authors for all their support, suggestions, and editing help. It's been a blast! -Blanca

Fitz tried his best not to stare at Simmons as she worked on the other side of the lab. Tried and failed. It was no use. This small space was all they had, so avoiding her was impossible. Ever since the day she’d thrown herself out of the plane — the same day she’d kissed him on the cheek and called him her hero — all these new-old feelings had surfaced at the most inconvenient times. They kept him hyper aware of her presence whenever she was near, and kept him up at night wondering whether she was safe. He wasn’t ready to deal with all the ramifications that came with those feelings, but he couldn’t deny the simple truth he’d discovered that day: he didn’t want to live his life without her.

Shaking himself out of those dangerous thoughts, he refocused on the project in front of him. The miniature, handheld EMP device he was developing was coming along nicely. He just needed to make a few adjustments to the capacitor and it would be ready for the field. If he’d thought of it sooner, maybe he could have adapted it to counteract the pulse from the virus and Jemma would never have had to jump. Why hadn’t he thought of that? It didn’t matter now, he supposed. It was all over and she was fine. Completely recovered. It was remarkable, really. To look at her you’d never know what she’d been through. No visible marks anywhere on her creamy, perfectly freckled skin. In fact, the curve of her neck as she peered into a microscope was a work of fine art. And the way she was bent over the workbench— Damn. He’d gotten off track again.

His mind was a mess of contradictions these days, each side of him fighting for supremacy. He’d always had a logical mind, but the depth of his emotions sometimes made him irrational. He loved Simmons purely for who she was on the inside, but he had less than pure thoughts when it came to her unfairly appealing outside as well. And while he was confident in his own genius and knew his value to her, and to the team, he also worried about failure and not being able to measure up when she counted on him most. If he only knew what she wanted and needed him to be, it would be so much easier. He would just be that and then maybe she’d see everything they could be together. 

The whole thing made him more ill-tempered than usual, and he couldn’t stop himself from snapping at his teammates without meaning to. He always apologized afterwards, and they seemed to understand. Especially Simmons, who knew him best. She never held his little outbursts against him. Which made him feel even worse. After all, it wasn’t her fault it had taken him so long to figure out how completely he loved her. 

Perhaps a snack was what he needed to sort out his jumbled thoughts. At the very least putting some space between him and the object of his confusion might do him some good. He was on his way up to the galley when Skye met him at the bottom of the stairs. “Hey, Coulson wants us all up top for a briefing. New mission incoming, I think.”

“Perfect timing,” Simmons called from inside the lab, peeling off her gloves and coming to join them. “I just finished my analysis on the last sample.”

The three of them headed up to the briefing room together. Food, and relief from Simmons’ magnetic presence, would have to wait.

When they arrived, Coulson, May, and Ward were already huddled around the display table. Acknowledging their presence with a nod, Coulson tapped the console and a black-and-white mugshot appeared on the screen.

“This is Raymond Sharp. Convicted in 2008 of armed robbery in southern Florida, released on parole last year. Also the prime suspect in a home invasion robbery in Miami Beach a week ago. His whereabouts are currently unknown, but S.H.I.E.L.D. would like to question him. So, simple track and tag op. We find him and escort him to the Fridge.”

“And if he doesn’t cooperate?” ask Ward.

“The usual protocol, Coulson said. “We’ll ask really nicely.”

“What’s the catch?” Skye chimed in, when Coulson didn’t provide any further details.

“The catch?” Their leader didn’t even try to hide his smug grin.

“Yeah. You know, _the catch_. There’s got to be something special about this guy or S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn’t be interested. So what’s his deal?”

“I was getting to that. Sort of a build-up-to-the-big-reveal kind of a thing.”

“Oh. Sorry—” Skye said.

Coulson waved his hand. “Never mind. It’s too late now.” 

May gave him a look that said, “Just get on with it.”

“Anyway, here’s where it gets interesting.” He tapped a few more controls and a series of new images appeared on the screen. The first looked like a police report. The second was another black-and-white shot, this time from a surveillance camera, showing a man holding a gun on a convenience store clerk. The third photo was an aerial view of the same man sitting in a lounge chair by a pool with a cocktail in his hand. 

“Mr. Sharp apparently had a pretty busy day yesterday. We know he paid a visit to his ex-wife in Boca Raton. She called it in to the local PD at 12:23 p.m. But he was gone by the time the officers arrived. Also yesterday, he allegedly robbed a convenience store in Tampa, more than three hours away. Note the time stamp on the security footage: 1:09 p.m. Finally, he was seen lounging by the pool at a luxury hotel in Miami, from approximately 10 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., when he returned to his room and ordered room service, which was delivered and signed for at approximately 3:15. In short, this man appears to have been in at least three places at once.”

“Easy explanation,” Ward offered dismissively. “He used body doubles to establish an alibi. Only one of them is actually the guy. The other two just look like him.”

“You ought to know by now, Agent Ward,” Coulson cautioned, “it’s hardly ever the easy explanation.”

“Triplets maybe?” Skye suggested excitedly. “Or clones? Or, no, wait. Just one guy, but he has super speed. Am I close?”

“Don’t know yet. Could be any of those things. Or something else entirely. That’s what we’re going to find out.”

As usual, May ignored the superfluous details and cut right to the chase. “So where do we start?”

Coulson reached for a stack of folders and handed them out as he gave the team their assignments. “Ward, you’ll investigate the convenience store. All we have is this one photo from the security camera, see if you can review the rest of the footage. And ask the clerk if he remembers anything unusual about our guy. May, check out the hotel. Interview the staff — front desk, pool service, room service — anyone who might have seen or interacted with Sharp. Meanwhile, Skye and I will visit the ex-wife and see if she has any information that could shed some more light on this.”

Fitz couldn’t help but notice all the folders had been handed out and he and Simmons didn’t have an assignment yet. “What about us, sir?” he asked.

“Fitzsimmons, I was just getting to you. Local law enforcement paid a visit to his last known address in Fort Lauderdale and retrieved some evidence that might be helpful.”

Coulson reached beneath the console, brought up a metal case, and opened it. Tucked inside a cushion of thick foam padding was a shiny object that looked like a mirrored prism with an hourglass-like shape, wide on the ends and tapered in the middle. Fitz had never seen anything like it before. The faceted surface seemed to be covered with some kind of writing that looked alien in origin, possibly Asgardian.

“This was among the items reported stolen in the home robbery last week. Due to the unusual shape and writing, S.H.I.E.L.D. is classifying it as an 0-8-4. Fitz, I need you to examine it and figure out if it has anything to do with Sharp’s sudden unexplained ubiquity.”

“On it, sir,” Fitz said, taking the case when Coulson offered it to him. 

Next, Coulson produced a blue sample bag, seemingly from nowhere, and slid it over to Simmons.

“Simmons, we’ve also got a DNA sample from the suspect’s apartment. See if there’s anything there that screams ‘I’ve got super powers.’ In my experience, there’s two kinds of enhanced individuals running around out there. And this guy doesn’t strike me as the hero type.”

“I’ll get started right away,” she said with undisguised eagerness. Fitz knew that solving mysteries like this was part of the reason she’d joined S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first place. And seeing them up close was why she’d wanted to go into the field. She looked like she couldn’t wait to start working on this latest puzzle. Fitz was fairly anxious to get to work himself. Perhaps this new assignment would provide a distraction and help him put his feelings aside, at least temporarily.

Coulson gave them all one of his patented team pep talks — the standard inspirational speech about how they could figure out anything if they worked together — then dismissed them to their respective assignments. Fitz was about to head to the lab with the case when his stomach rumbled, reminding him of his interrupted detour to the galley earlier. It was now past snack time, practically the lunch hour. He figured he had time to grab something quick before getting to work on the 0-8-4. 

After tossing a bag of popcorn into the microwave and setting the timer, he sat down at the small table in the lounge and opened the case to take a closer look at the object. It felt cool to the touch, and though the surface had a glassy, highly reflective appearance, his fingers left no prints as he handled it. The symbols — which he was almost certain were Asgardian now that he saw them up close — were carved with delicate strokes by a skilled hand. The center where the two halves met was grooved, allowing them to rotate in opposite directions with a gentle click. As he fiddled with the device it seemed to emit a strange hum, growing louder with each twist to the next position, until he reached a specific combination. Then it stopped altogether. 

The sound of the microwave beeping drew his attention away momentarily, and Fitz set the object down on the table, intending to get up and retrieve his snack. Before he could, though, there was a sudden blinding white light and an ear-splitting whine. 

And then there was nothing.

* * *

As Jemma executed the DNA sequencing program, she checked the time again in the corner of her monitor. It had been almost an hour since Coulson’s briefing and Fitz hadn’t yet returned to the lab with the device he was supposed to be studying. She’d seen him head towards the lounge, presumably for a bite to eat, but he ought to have returned by now. They’d already landed at an air base south of Miami and the rest of the team had headed off on their assigned missions, so it was just the two of them remaining on the Bus. She couldn’t imagine what could be taking him so long. 

She was about to go look for him when the glass doors to the lab opened and Fitz strode purposefully toward her work station. There was no sign of the case or the device. 

“Jemma, I have to tell you something,” he said, blue eyes sparking. “It can’t wait.”

“Is it about the device?” she asked, though somehow she knew this had nothing to do with their current mission.

“No, this is about us. Well, more about me, but it could potentially affect us. I hope it won’t, though. Either way. I need to say this.”

He was kind of cute when he rambled, she caught herself thinking. There was something in his eyes, in his posture, that made her pulse race. As if he’d burst through their carefully constructed walls the minute he’d entered the lab. It was terrifying and exciting and although he’d hardly said anything of substance yet, she wasn’t sure what to do with it all. 

“What is it Fitz?” She could hear the tremble in her voice.

He took her hands in his, licked his lips, looked her directly in the eye, and said, “I’m in love with you.”

There it was. A declaration, plain as day. She couldn’t stuff this into her music box. 

“What?” she asked, trying to buy herself some time to think. And also because she needed to hear him say it again. Just to be sure. He dropped her hands and stepped back.

“I love you.” He rubbed his neck with his hand and looked down, letting out a breath. “Whew. It feels so good to say it out loud. I love you, Jemma. You don’t have to say it back. I’m not expecting anything. If you only want to be friends, partners, work colleagues, whatever, that’s totally fine by me. I just couldn’t keep it in any longer.”

Jemma opened her mouth and closed it again. This wasn’t a completely unwelcome revelation, she had to admit. But the timing felt strange. Like there was some important piece of information she was missing that would explain it all. “Where is this coming from?”

“I think I’ve felt this way for a very long time, but I didn’t realize it until now. I was in the galley earlier and then . . . I just suddenly felt like I had to see you, to tell you how I feel. You’re the most amazing person I know. You’re so smart and determined and beautiful and kind. You’re perfect. And even if we never become anything more than friends, I’ll still be the luckiest guy on the planet, just to have the privilege of being by your side.”

There had been times in the past when she’d entertained the possibility that her feelings towards Fitz went beyond friendship. She’d always dismissed those thoughts, though, because she wasn’t willing to risk losing what they had if it didn’t work out. There was no going back now, though, no matter what he said about still being friends. Their relationship would be forever changed by this revelation, and he’d left it up to her to decide what the new version of them would be. There was only one answer she could give.

She put her arms around his neck, leaned up into him and pressed her lips to his.

* * *

Kissing Jemma was better than anything Fitz could ever have imagined. She kissed like she did everything else, with passion and precision. His senses sharpened, taking her all in, her delicate scent, her lips as sweet as honey, the feel of her hands as they wove through his hair, the little moans that came from her throat. Every part of him was attuned to every part of her.

As she opened her lips wider to grant him more access he became convinced that his sole purpose in life was to love Jemma and make her happy. He wanted to write her sonnets, serenade her with love songs outside her door. They were ridiculous notions, he knew on some level, but there was nothing more important to him in that moment than showing Jemma how much she meant to him. He poured it all into the kiss, sliding his mouth against hers with a tender intensity. She reciprocated in kind, his equal in every respect. His heart felt like it might burst as his hands roamed up and down her back.

They finally parted after a time that seemed like a long while yet wasn’t nearly long enough, gasping and taking in heavy, panting breaths. He cupped the back of her head with his hand and leaned his forehead against hers. They stood like that in silence, breathing each other’s air, until he heard her whisper, so quiet he almost missed it, “I think I love you too.”

Smiling brightly, he wrapped her up in a warm hug and buried his face in her hair. It was the most wonderful moment of his life. But it didn’t last long. 

Over her shoulder, he caught a flash of movement, causing all the little hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. Someone was pacing outside the doors of the lab. As far as he knew, he and Jemma were supposed to be alone. The entire team was still away on the mission. Faced away from the doors with her head on his shoulder, Jemma didn’t see anything. Which he was grateful for when he finally got a clear view. Standing at the edge of the glass doors was a stranger with his face, urgently beckoning him over before ducking out of view.

It all suddenly came flooding back. The white light. The high-pitched noise. What had happened afterwards. He thought he might have imagined it, but he couldn’t deny the evidence now waiting for him outside the lab. Through the fog of his dulled senses, he recalled seeing several other identical figures standing in a circle around the 0-8-4. He hadn’t devoted any time or brain power to processing this, however, because he’d suddenly been consumed by the thought that the love of his life was waiting for him in the lab and he needed to tell her how he felt. The strange phenomenon had hardly seemed worthy of his attention compared to that imperative, and he’d quickly put the whole thing out of his mind.

He couldn’t ignore it anymore, though. Not if he was going to keep Jemma from finding out what had happened. Would she still choose him if she had more than one Fitz to choose from? He didn’t want to think about that. Maybe he could fix this before she knew anything was wrong and they could go back to kissing some more. He really, really wanted to get back to the kissing.

Reluctantly, he pulled out of their embrace and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her shy smile was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. It made it that much harder to say what he had to say.

He cleared his throat. “Now that that’s settled,” he said with a small laugh, “we should probably get some work done before the team gets back.”

“I suppose you’re right.” There was a reluctant tone in her voice that made his heart soar. “But then we should probably talk about all this at some point, yeah?”

He dropped a quick kiss on her forehead. “Absolutely,” he promised, and meant it. 

Kissing her had been a marvelous experience, but they’d need to talk things through if they had a chance at a future together. Which he desperately wanted. A home, a lab of their own, marriage, kids, pets, chores, he wanted it all. For the first time since they’d met, that future seemed like a real possibility. He wasn’t about to blow it now. 

That also meant he had to deal with whatever was happening to him first.

“I, uh, left the 0-8-4 case in the galley. Be right back.”

“I’ll be here,” she said, humming softly to herself as she went back to check the progress of her DNA analysis.

Outside the lab there was not one but two other Fitzes waiting for him. 

“What the bloody hell are you doing?” asked one of them. Fitz shushed him urgently, hoping Jemma hadn’t heard. The other Fitz continued in a hissed whisper. “This isn’t the time to get distracted. We’ve got more important things to worry about.”

Though Fitz knew the three of them were physically identical, this one seemed to stand a bit taller. He also had an aura of self-importance that bordered on obnoxiousness.

“Nothing’s more important than Jemma,” he said automatically.

“Ah, of course. You must be the romantic. Should have known one of us would be.” 

Fitz ran a hand down his face in frustration. “Just tell me what’s going on. What happened? Who are you?”

The third Fitz, who had yet to speak, jumped into an explanation without missing a beat. For the first time, Fitz noticed that he was carrying the 0-8-4 in his hand. “The good news is that we’ve solved the mystery of what happened to Raymond Sharp.”

“Congratulations. I’m thrilled for you,” Fitz replied, pressing his palms together. “But it still doesn’t answer any of my questions.”

“Calm down. He’s getting to it,” said the first one, as if he were talking to a child.

“My best guess is that this thing acts as a sort of prism for the psyche. In the same way a prism splits light into its component wavelengths when it hits the glass at the right angle, this device can split a person into his or her component personalities. That’s how Sharp could be in three places at once.”

“Component personalities? What’s that mean?”

“Each of those men in the photos is some aspect of Sharp himself. The part that loves his wife, the compulsive thief, the layabout who just wants to lounge by the pool. I — or I guess _we_ — must have somehow inadvertently triggered it too, so now the same thing has happened to us.”

“So which one of us is the real Fitz?”

“None of us. Or all of us, in a way. We each represent a different personality aspect. I must have gotten the engineering aptitude, since I was the first to figure it out. This one’s all ego.”

He jerked his thumb in the direction of the Fitz standing next to him. It was hard to argue with that assessment.

“It doesn’t matter who is what,” Ego Fitz said dismissively. “The point is, we’ve got to fix this before Jemma and the team find out.”

“Agreed. So what do we do?”

“You don’t do anything. Go back to your bunk and stay there until one of us comes to get you. Don’t want you mucking anything up that we’ll have to make up for later when we’re back to being one person again. Meanwhile, Dr. Fitz here — we’ll call him Doc — will be working on figuring out how to make that happen.”

“You’ll be in the lab? With Jemma?” he asked with a gulp.

“Don’t worry,” Doc Fitz said. “I promise I’ll leave all the romancing to you, Romeo.”

Though it went against everything his heart was telling him, Fitz had to acknowledge that it was probably the most sensible plan. His future with Jemma was dependent on reversing the effects of the prism, and their best hope was to let the most scientific Fitz figure it out. He didn’t like the idea of being away from her for any length of time, but at least he could walk away knowing that she returned his feelings. That was something. Actually, it was everything.

* * *

Jemma was preparing a sample slide when Fitz came back into the lab with the 0-8-4 in hand. She started to hide her smile before realizing she didn’t have to. There was no one else on the Bus but the two of them. She could be as openly overjoyed and affectionate as she wanted. She still couldn’t believe what had happened just a few minutes ago. It seemed like a dream. He loved her, and she was pretty sure she loved him, and everything was different now. They still had a lot to figure out, but she liked this new direction they were heading in.

She left her station to join him at the worktable where he was gathering the tools to run diagnostics on the object. They had work to do, sure, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy each other’s presence. Coming up behind him, she wrapped her arms around his torso and pressed her cheek into his back. He felt so warm and comfortable. It surprised her how easy it was to cross the lines they’d drawn over the years. 

But instead of relaxing into her touch, he stiffened. She lifted her head and let go. He still didn’t turn around to look at her. He just kept working as if she weren’t there. 

“Fitz?” she asked, instantly disliking how desperate she sounded. 

“Sorry, I’m just about to do an XPS analysis on the device and I need to make sure the parameters are calculated correctly. Can you hand me those stage manipulators?”

She did as he asked and he mumbled a distracted, “Thanks, Simmons,” before turning his attention back to the experiment.

So it was back to Simmons again. She could handle the uncertainty of an awkward transition from friends to something more, but this seemed more like a complete reversal. Was he already regretting his earlier words? Their kiss? Was it all just a massive mistake?

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” he replied too quickly and without looking at her. “Everything’s fine. Just following Coulson’s orders. Trying to solve it this."

“I mean, between us. Because if you’re regretting what happened earlier we can just— “

“Why? What happened?” he asked. Had it really meant that little to him? She was so confused.

“Never mind,” she said, though she wasn’t sure he heard her, and went back to work.

* * *

On the way to his bunk, Fitz heard murmuring coming from the lounge and his curiosity got the better of him. Poking his head inside, he was confronted by the incredible sight of three more versions of himself in the midst of an argument. One of them was in a corner, arms folded protectively across his chest, one was in the midst of making pancakes, and the other was sitting in a chair with a scowl on his face. 

“What’re you looking at?” the Fitz in the chair said when he noticed him.

“Never mind him,” said the one at the griddle. “He’s just grumpy. Doesn’t think pancakes can solve anything.”

“Not this, they can’t.”

“I intend to prove him wrong.”

Fitz closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay. So he’s Grumpy and you’re what? Hungry?”

“Mmm. More like Snacky.”

“Okay, Snacky it is. And who’s this one?” Fitz pointed to the one in the corner, trying to make himself look as small and invisible as possible.

“If I have to be Grumpy, then he’s Bashful,” Grumpy said.

Bashful didn’t respond, but his cheeks turned bright red. 

“So there’s six of us?”

“Seven,” Snacky said, licking batter from his thumb. “At least there was. The last one took off a little while ago. Hasn’t come back yet.”

“I think I need to go lie down,” Fitz said.

As he approached the partition that separated the living quarters from the rest of the Bus another sound drew his attention. Someone else was in there. It had to be the seventh Fitz the others had spoken of. He’d already met Ego, Doc, Snacky, Grumpy, and Bashful. He wondered what characteristic this one would embody.

As the sounds in his bunk got louder and more graphic, he had his answer. 

“Jemma,” his own voice moaned through the partition. “Ohhhh god, Jemma.”

If he had Bashful’s capacity to be mortified or Grumpy’s temper, he might have confronted the guy and scolded him for his lack of self control. As it was, being the romantic one, he sort of understood the impulse. He wouldn’t mind being intimate with Jemma if she wanted that, but his interest in her was more emotional than physical. He supposed all those carnal urges had to have gone somewhere. So he kept on walking, leaving the poor, frustrated version of himself to work it out on his own.

The Bus had never felt smaller. His bunk wasn’t an option, neither was the lab, nor the lounge. But maybe he didn’t have to stay confined to the plane. The team wouldn’t be back for a while, and Doc had his hands full with the device. There was still one S.H.I.E.L.D. SUV that hadn’t been taken out. He probably had time to leave the Bus and come back before anyone knew he was gone. He could do something nice for Jemma while he was out, buy her flowers or a small token of his love. That’s what good boyfriends did, right?

Decision made, Fitz headed toward the cargo bay to put his plan into motion.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am super excited to post chapter 2 of this fic for aosroundrobin2019! It was so much fun to write with blancasplayground and agentofship. They are both amazing writers and incredibly supportive <3

Jemma snuck another glance at Fitz as he worked with the prism. It looked like he had finished running a full analysis on the composition — not that he’d said a word to her about it. In fact, he didn’t seem to notice her at all. She’d been worried that sharing a kiss like that would change their relationship beyond recognition, but she never would have thought he’d just pretend that it had never happened. 

Kissing Fitz had changed everything for her, and she found that she very much wanted to talk about it — sooner rather than later. Years of friendship and partnership made his words mean so much more than they would have coming from anyone else. And she’d never had a first kiss that was so satisfying, yet promised so much more. Realizing she was staring — again, not that he’d noticed — she forced her attention back to the DNA analysis. The sequencing program had finished running and she started searching the database for DNA matches. She didn’t think it would lead to anything useful since they already knew who it belonged to, but it was protocol so that’s what she would do. After that she’d get started on the analysis.

From the corner of her eye she saw Fitz stride purposefully out of the lab without a word to her. Honestly, his behavior today was so odd. Maybe that kiss had ruined things between them after all.

* * *

Doc stopped outside of the lab to regroup. He had been trying to work, but every time he looked up from his tablet he had to look away from Simmons again quickly. He had ideas he wanted to bounce off of her, but she kept giving him the strangest look and it was making him uncomfortable. 

What had the other guy said to her when he was in there? He needed her focus on science...not on whatever it was on now. 

He tried to remember what had happened right before he had apparently split into all his component parts. He remembered holding the prism, feeling the weight of it in his hands. And then… And then there was a bright white light and that was it. But something else must have happened. White light didn’t cause people to be split into seven different versions of themselves. But prisms _did_ refract light into its constituent spectral colors. If the alien prism split his personality like a regular prism split light, that might be the clue he needed to reverse the process.

He scratched his nail across his chin as he thought. Maybe Simmons could help him think through this? He glanced towards her again, still at work on her analysis, and saw a look on her face that he couldn’t quite interpret, but that, quite frankly, terrified him. That wasn’t an option for now. But there were six more of him on the Bus. If they worked together they should be able to figure this out. 

Or at the very least one of them might remember something useful. He started walking away from the lab, as far away from Simmons as he could get until he figured this out. Or at least until she stopped acting so strangely. 

Given the size of the plane it took him a surprisingly long time to find another Fitz. He wouldn’t even have looked in Coulson’s office if it hadn’t been for the raised voices coming through the door that had been left ajar.

“There must be something here that will tell us what he’s hiding.” It was disconcerting to hear his own voice from another room, but it was made worse by the harsh tone.

“Probably,” another voice agreed. “But he’s the boss. He’s meant to have secrets.”

“He shouldn’t be keeping things from _me_. Maybe you don’t mind, but I can’t do my job if I’m constantly kept in the dark.”

“Of course it would be easier if we found out all of his secrets, but I don’t know why I’m the one doing all the looking,” the voice grumbled. There were more mumbled words, but they were too low to make out. 

There was a bark of laughter before Fitz pushed the door open all the way.

“You aren’t supposed to be in here,” Doc said, more out of habit than anything else. He didn’t really care what they did, as long as they didn’t get in his way, but he felt like it needed to be said.

“Ah, another goody two-shoes.” An icy glare was turned on him and Doc rolled his eyes.

“Did you really spend time changing?” The other Fitz, Ego if he wasn’t mistaken, straightened up, tugging at what appeared to be a freshly ironed dress shirt, before running a hand through his slicked-back hair. 

“Some of us care about how we look.”

Ego gave him a dismissive look and went back to looking over the shoulder of the Fitz digging through Coulson’s desk drawers. From all the grumbling, he thought that must be Grumpy.

“There’s nothing here worth anything.” With a glance toward Ego, Grumpy added, “I only came with you because the others are insufferable. Turns out you are insufferable too.”

Fitz gritted his teeth, eyes falling on an original SHIELD EMP disguised as an oversized watch. That was obviously worth something. It was actually a bit of a technological marvel for its time. Next to that was a scale model of a quinjet, and in Grumpy’s hand was a detailed design for the Bus, showing all the electrical and life support systems. Those were important things — for SHIELD as well as for any serious scientist. Not that this wanker seemed to care. 

“I just wanted to ask you guys if you remembered anything from when we touched the prism.”

They both stopped searching and seemed to consider his words. Good to know they still took science seriously.

“No.”

“Just a white light. Nothing else.”

He pushed a hand against his forehead, starting to get a little frustrated. He hadn’t seen any of the others, but he wasn’t quite ready to go back to Simmons yet… Of course, she wouldn’t know the difference if someone else went back in his place.

“Hey...would one of you be able to head back to the lab? Keep Simmons distracted? I’ve got some questions I need answered.”

* * *

Fitz opened the door of the SUV and carefully removed the flowers he’d bought. He hadn’t been sure what to get her, so he had several bouquets. One of them was sure to be perfect for her. Red roses had seemed like the safe, traditional option, but he’d also picked out a bouquet of tulips in various colors. It was bright and sunny, just like Jemma’s smile. He’d also added white carnations after the woman at the shop had said they represented pure love. That’s what he felt for Jemma. Love that was pure and would last forever.

Hands full he headed towards the lab before remembering he was supposed to stay out of the way. Doc was handling things in the lab. He quickly detoured to his bunk instead. It should be unoccupied now. Sliding the door open, he carefully set the flowers down before letting out a squeak and belatedly trying to hold it in by covering his mouth.

“Sorry! Thought you’d have cleared out by now.”

“Clearly,” the other Fitz answered. “Just make sure you knock next time so you don’t interrupt something, yeah? What are all of these for?”

“I got flowers for Jemma.”

“Is she opening a flower shop?”

“What? No? I just wasn’t sure which flowers captured my feelings for her best.” He was a little offended, but clearly the other man didn’t understand his love for Jemma.

“Your feelings can be captured by flowers?”

Now that the question had been asked, it did feel a bit ridiculous. “Well, no. Not exactly. But it’s a symbol of my love.”

“Are you sure that’s what she wants? A symbol of your love?” Fitz started to feel distinctly uncomfortable with where this conversation was going. “Maybe she wants something more...physical.”

Ah, right. This guy was Horny. He could obviously only focus on one thing.

“The way to her heart isn’t through sex,” he scoffed.

“Really? You’ve seen her with other guys. You know what she wants.”

“Don’t you dare talk about her like that. Jemma is perfect. She’s beautiful, kind, funny, brilliant…” A smile spread over his face just thinking about her. Somehow his voice stayed calm, but there was a kernel of doubt in his mind that he couldn’t quite shake. Not that he thought Jemma was only interested in sex. She’d said she loved him too. 

“She doesn’t need you to protect her.” Horny raised his eyebrows. “She’s not exactly innocent. And I am very much looking forward to benefiting from her experience. It’s going to feel so good to be with her...to be inside her.”

Fitz felt his hands curl into fists. His Jemma didn’t deserve to be taken advantage of, especially by someone just trying to get in her pants. “Don’t be so selfish. Jemma needs someone who cares about what she wants.”

“I care about what she wants.” Horny looked surprised by the accusation. “I want to take care of her...make her feel good.”

Fitz was still skeptical.

“Look. She has a PhD in biology. She’s an expert on the human body.” The other Fitz waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Maybe what she wants is to f--” 

“Yeah, I get it,” he quickly interrupted. Fitz felt deflated, like his planning had been for nothing. He’d had thoughts of giving her flowers, a romantic dinner, and then maybe a goodnight kiss under the stars. The perfect first date for the woman who made his heart sing. But he was right. Jemma might want other things as well. “What do you suggest?”

Since this part of him was here and didn’t seem to have anything better to do, they might as well figure out the best way to win Jemma’s heart. He was willing to do whatever it took to make sure she was happy for the rest of her life.

* * *

Jemma registered another presence in the lab, though her attention remained focused on the DNA results. It had to be Fitz since he was the only one there, but honestly everything today felt a little off. Like they weren’t as in sync as they usually were. The DNA match had found exactly what she’d expected. The blood belonged to Raymond Sharp. No surprise there. But the DNA results themselves were a little unexpected.

“Fitz?” she called, not taking her eyes off of the screen where a 3D model of Sharp’s DNA was rendering. She could feel him beside her even without him saying a word. She felt almost hyper aware of him now, and while she desperately wanted to ease the tension between them, he had been right. She could see that now. Work had to come first. “Are you seeing this?”

“I see it. Explain.”

His voice was commanding, and it sent a tingle through her that almost shook her resolve to focus on work.

“Right there.” She pointed at the screen. “These nucleotides…”

She trailed off, thinking. There was something off about the results, but she was so distracted she had almost missed it. 

Fitz moved closer and she could feel the heat radiating from him. She was tempted to lean back into him, but now that he was talking to her again, she didn’t want to scare him away. It wasn’t his fault she found him unreasonably attractive right now.

“Dr. Simmons?” Fitz’s cool, detached voice broke her trance. She knew he was just teasing, but the way he’d just called her doctor did things to her. But now was not the time, she reminded herself as she pointed towards the nucleotide chain. At least one of them could remain professional.

“There are pieces missing. I’m at a bit of a loss, actually. It must be a mistake?” She hated sounding so uncertain, but she hadn’t had time to develop any sort of theory.

“He’s missing part of his DNA?”

“No, not missing part of his DNA. Just some of the pairs aren’t quite right. See right here?”

Jemma turned to look at Fitz and caught a flash of blue. She really liked that shirt on him, the way it hugged his shoulders and made his eyes sparkle. He had done something different with his hair as well, but before she could start daydreaming again she forced her eyes back to the screen. There would be time to focus on Fitz later.

“There is enough of the sample left to run it through the sequencer again. I’ll just do that,” she said with a sigh. So much for finishing this up quickly and getting to that talk. 

She turned back to the lab bench and prepared the sample for the DNA sequencer. The sooner they figured out what was happening with the 0-8-4, the sooner she could figure out where she stood with Fitz. And then maybe there would be more kissing.

“Did you learn anything about the 0-8-4 that may help me understand the DNA results?”

There was a beat of silence and she saw Fitz move from the corner of her eye. 

“What, Simmons?” He sounded more uncertain again. She was really noticing all the different sides of him today.

“Did your results from the XPS analysis provide any useful information?”

She turned to face him fully. He was wearing a cardigan over a plaid button down. Hmmm...she thought he had been wearing — 

But that was ridiculous. It wasn’t like he had time to change. He hadn’t even left the lab. She studied him for a few seconds, her gaze landing on his curls. She had been certain he had done something different with his hair, but that was clearly not the case. She’d obviously been working too long. Or maybe their kiss had scrambled her brain. They would definitely have to try kissing again to see if there were similar results. 

“Oh, that.” He smiled. “It is definitely Asgardian metal, like I thought. The composition is the same as Thor’s hammer.”

“So it _is_ alien. That might help explain the DNA results…or at least provide an explanation for why they are unexplainable.” She gave him a crooked smile and was pleased when he returned it. See? They could still work together. This wasn’t weird. “Anything else? Any idea what it does?”

“Well...it’s a prism. So it’s possible it splits, ah, something.” Fitz looked away, not meeting her eye. 

Jemma blinked. The sense that their relationship was back on even footing evaporated. It had felt like he had been about to say something else entirely and changed his mind. 

“Something?” she pressed. Science should be sacred, no matter how they felt about each other.

“Yes. Something.” He nodded with a sense of finality.

Jemma was about to push him harder to get to what he had intended to say, when there was a noise from outside the lab. Her eyes darted around, looking for an answer. Fitz was beside her and no one else was supposed to be on the plane. 

“No one is back yet, are they?”

“No,” Fitz answered after a pause, his eyes shifting towards the door before coming back to her.

There was another sound and she cast around for something that could be used as a weapon. She ended up with a rack of test tubes in her hand and moved cautiously towards the sound. But Fitz hadn’t moved. 

“What is it, Fitz? What aren’t you telling me?”

“Simmons…”

He reached out a hand to her and she started to walk back towards him before pausing. Something was wrong here. He had been acting strangely all day. Could something have happened to him? Something to do with the 0-8-4?

She searched his face, looking for something that would give her a clue, but all she saw was her best friend. The person she thought might be more than a best friend.

Well, the only way now was forward. Taking a deep breath she ignored Fitz and stepped outside the lab. Where she found herself faced with Fitz, a bouquet of red roses in his hand.

“Fitz!”

“I couldn’t stay away —“

“Stay back! Both of you!” Her head swiveled back and forth, taking in two people who looked identical.

“Now, Simmons —“

“I mean it,” she yelled at the Fitz who had been in the lab with her, brandishing a test tube in his direction. “What happened? Is one of you a clone? Or...or in a disguise?” 

She probably sounded a bit hysterical, but considering her whole life had just been turned upside down, that was understandable. And now she was on her own to sort this out, without Fitz by her side. Or, with two Fitzes by her side, rather.

“Jemma —“ The other Fitz started to speak, extending the roses towards her. 

She reacted on instinct, throwing the test tube at whoever it was coming towards her.

He jumped backwards and the glass shattered on the floor. Adrenaline surged through her body and she took several calming breaths as she held out another test tube.

“Tell me what’s going on,” she said through clenched teeth, directing her words at the Fitz who had been in the lab with her. “Where is the real Fitz?”

“Right here.” She glared at him and he held his hands up in surrender. “Or we both are. Part of him, anyway. The 0-8-4. I think it splits personalities the same way a prism refracts light.”

“Split personalities?” She tightened her grip on the test tube. She wasn’t ready to believe anything Fitz told her just yet, but that didn’t stop her mind from cataloging the events of the day, looking for where this theory would fit or not.

“When we lined up the markings on the prism something happened to separate out the different parts of us.”

“That isn’t possible.”

He gave her a crooked smile. “And yet the evidence is right here.”

“So which part of Fitz are you?” She didn’t believe him. She couldn’t believe him. But the prism _was_ am 0-8-4...and wasn’t this why she had come into the field? To learn and explore? She just hadn’t expected something like this to happen to her...or to Fitz.

“I’m Doc,the engineer.” He gestured towards the other Fitz. “He’s Romeo.”

Jemma looked back at the Fitz with the flowers. The romantic one. An entire part of Fitz was focused on being romantic. Her heart melted a little bit and she lowered her hand.

Science and romance? That was an excellent combination.

Test tubes shattering on the floor broke her concentration and she realized they had slipped from her hand as she had stared at Fitz, or Romeo, she supposed. His blue eyes were intense...and a bit distracting now that she knew there was a piece of him that was just focused on her. She wondered if he ever thought about…

Fitz appeared in her peripheral vision and she let out a squeak.

“Careful, Jemma. There’s broken glass all over the floor.” 

“I’m sure Dr. Simmons can handle a little broken glass, considering she’s the one who broke it.”

“I knew I hadn’t imagined it.” Jemma shook her head, looking at the latest Fitz to appear in front of her. He was incredibly handsome, with a confidence she wasn’t used to seeing from him, and she felt a little tingle run through her. But more importantly, he was wearing her favorite blue dress shirt. She knew she had seen Fitz wearing it earlier in the lab. It really brought out his eyes -- eyes that seemed to be staring right through her. From the look he gave her, she thought he might know exactly what she was thinking.

Then he smirked at her and a blush rose in her cheeks.

“So, who are you then? Sexy?” Honestly, this was all making her a little grumpy, and she immediately regretted her words. 

“That’s Ego,” Romeo said dismissively, taking her hand and steering her around the broken glass. It was a good thing he did, because she had already forgotten it was there and she was likely to get hurt the way her brain had slowed to a crawl when presented with so many Fitzes. “He, ah, thinks he’s better than everyone else.”

“Can’t argue with the facts.”

The other two Fitzes let out little huffs of disagreement and Jemma smiled at their reaction. She was familiar with this part of Fitz as well.

“Alright, ego, science, and romance. But there is more to Fitz than that.”

This was really quite fascinating. She should really examine all of them to see what physiological changes may have occurred. Her gaze drifted to Ego and his knowing gaze before snapping back to Romeo. If Raymond Sharp’s DNA was any indication, then Fitz had gone through a change that she would love to study. This could further her study of science in ways she couldn’t have even imagined before going into the field. Although...getting Fitz back together should probably be her priority here.

“Snacky is still in the kitchen. I think he’s making pancakes for everyone...and the other guy is still in our bunk.”

“Snacky?” The word burst out, but after a moment’s reflection she could acknowledge that it made sense. Fitz always felt better after a snack. 

“I think you are focusing on the wrong thing here, Simmons.” It was Doc. Romeo still had her hand in his and it was really quite comforting, but her attention was captured by the scientist. That had always been their way. Science had been the glue that held them together from the moment they’d first become friends. And she had to admit she was very attracted to that part of him.

“Right. Of course. So there are five of you?”

“There you are! Why did you leave me in Coulson’s office?” It was yet another Fitz, this one with a scowl on his face. Yet another side of Fitz that she was intimately acquainted with. Well, not _intimately_. Not yet at least. 

His words had been directed at Ego, so she continued her conversation without listening to the response. She raised her eyebrows as she amended her previous statement. “Six of you?”

“Seven, actually. There is one more, but he disappeared not long after we split and no one has seen him since.”

“Alright. Seven parts of Fitz. And you are all identical? I’d love to run some tests --”

“Simmons?”

“Hmmm?” Her mind was spinning with the possibilities. There were applications here if she could ensure there were no ethical or moral issues. “Imagine being able to question a suspect, but only talk to the part of him that would be willing to tell the truth. Oh! Or field agents could do their jobs with the part of them that was most capable with the physical aspects of the job. Do you think everyone splits into the same component parts?”

“I think maybe for now our focus should be on reversing the reaction. We need your help.”

Fitz was gently pulling her towards the lab. He had never let go of her hand, and she had to admit she was intrigued by that part of him. She knew he was a wonderful friend and had a great capacity for love. But he also hadn’t tried to do anything except give her that wonderful kiss -- it must have been this Fitz that had kissed her in the lab -- and hold her hand. Did he ever think about doing some of the things she had been thinking about?

Her feet stopped moving. She had to know before she helped put Fitz back together again. This was her opportunity to talk to just the part of him she knew would be honest about his answer.

“Fitz?”

“Yeah?” The answer came from three identical voices, while Ego just glanced in her direction.

“Oh...um, this Fitz.” She squeezed his hand. “I have a question for you, that I hope you can answer.”

“Anything, Jemma.” 

He looked so earnest that she felt a little bad. But, no matter, she couldn’t stop herself now. 

“Do you ever think...when you think about us, I mean. Do you think about how we’d be together?”

He flushed and she felt a wave of affection for him. Not the fire that was still smoldering inside her, but a deep, comforting love all the same.

“Yes? I mean, yes. Yes, I have.”

She bit her lower lip and considered him. 

“I think she means sex.” It was yet another Fitz, and he couldn’t seem to tear his gaze from her cleavage. If it had been anyone other than Fitz, she would have felt a little uncomfortable with the way he was looking at her, so openly full of lust. But as it was, his clear interest in her just made her want him even more.

“Yes, I know that!” Romeo practically yelled.

“Don’t worry, Dr. Simmons,” Ego said, joining the conversation and shooting a meaningful glance at Romeo. “We’re good in bed.”

“Simmons?” She turned her attention towards the voice. It really was exhausting with this many Fitzes needing her attention. Even though she was intrigued by all the different sides of him — so familiar, yet so different from the Fitz she’d known for nearly a decade—if they were going to give a relationship a try, she needed there to just be one of him. She couldn’t exactly date seven of him. And that’s if he was even interested in a romantic relationship when that part of him wasn’t dominant. “We need to reverse the process.”

“Sorry.” She shook her head. “I’ll be right there.”

* * *

The lab was where Doc felt most at home, and now that he had all of the information, he just needed Simmons to help him put it all together. She was his other half when it came to science, and now that she was focused on the task before them, he knew it wouldn’t be long until they figured this out. 

“Sharp’s DNA results show that there was a biological change. Your results should show the same thing if you were both affected by the 0-8-4.”

Jemma swiped an alcohol prep across his skin and he looked away. 

“While we wait for the DNA sequencer to run, we can look at the prism,” she added. “Maybe a second set of eyes will help.”

He picked up the 0-8-4, the mirrored surface reflecting the bright lights of the lab. “Just don’t rotate the two halves.”

“Is that how you…?” She gestured towards him. 

“Yeah. And we don’t need more Simmonses running around here.”

She laughed softly and then they got down to work. 

Hours later, they had run every test they could conceivably run in their mobile lab and spread the results out in front of them.

“This is everything,” he said, pulling up the DNA analysis she had run.

“Well, it looks like your DNA shows the same anomaly as Sharp’s. So it seems likely that he also used the 0-8-4. Which means we’ve solved SHIELD’s mystery of the week.”

She held out a hand for a high five, and he obliged even though he had come to the same conclusion hours ago, the slap of their hands echoing loudly in the lab. Fitz pulled up the 3D model of the prism on the holotable and rotated it for her to see. “Based on the composition of the material and the angles of the two halves of the prism, it seems plausible that when the two halves are rotated the light refracts and the person holding the device...gets split.”

“That doesn’t sound very scientific.” Jemma frowned at him. “But, theoretically, to reverse the process we would need to gather all the Fitzes together and use a second prism to recombine the seven parts into one?”

“If it works with light, it should work here,” he said with a shrug. “It’s the same basic theory.”

“Are you ready to try it?” she asked.

Was he ready to try it? That was a good question. The science was somewhat less than sound. But it wasn’t likely to do any harm. And it might even work.

“Yes.” He nodded. “I’m ready.”

“Shall I get the Fitzes?”

He glanced outside the lab. Only three of the others were still waiting outside. 

“We need all seven for this to work. And we all need to be close enough to be hit with the white light when the device is activated.”

“So we’ll just get the others. The plane isn’t that big. They can’t have gone far.”

He looked around the lab, running everything through his mind one last time to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. 

“Yeah. Okay. Let’s go find them then. The sooner we fix this, the better.”


	3. Chapter 3

Jemma had never realized how effectively soundproof the lab's glass doors were until she stepped out and stumbled onto three squabbling Fitzes. A few of the D.W.A.R.F.S were hovering over them as Grumpy and Romeo struggled to get control of the tablet while Ego leaned provocatively against Lola. She didn't even know Fitz could do "provocative" but, being Ego, he had to know his posture pushed his chest forward and did nice things to his shirt. There was a moment of silence that pulled Jemma out of her reverie and then they all started shouting again. She sighed. This was all too weird and confusing. She needed to put them all back together and then she'd deal with her no less confusing feelings, just with all of them in one body.

"Is it always so loud inside your brain? Must be exhausting," she said, turning to Doc and realizing he somehow understood what was happening in front of them. 

"What? Oh yes. And that's only three of us. But that's kind of interesting. See, when recalled using voice command, the DWARFs all fly back to Ego. I mean, of course, it could simply be that he spoke a few milliseconds before the others and—"

"Oh don't be ridiculous," Grumpy interrupted him as he grabbed Grumpy the dwarf. "You're just speaking louder and he speaks like he's reciting bloody poetry. It doesn't mean you have authority."

"Oh for god's sake," Jemma let out with a sigh and they all turned to her. 

"Are you alright, Jemma?" Romeo asked, his brows furrowing in concern as he immediately came to her, but she shook her head.

"Were you really trying to find out who the DWARFs answer to while _we_ were busy trying to find a solution to this mess?" 

Romeo and Grumpy just shrugged and Ego gave her a pleased little smile.

"These guys didn't believe me when I said that, as the natural leader, we would keep this appearance," he said, raising a hand to smooth down his hair. "When we are put back together. I had to show them." 

Jemma shook her head. Good thing they didn't have an actual pet, they would have driven the poor creature crazy. But she supposed Ego had a point and she really wouldn't mind Fitz keeping the sexy shirt a little longer. Until she could divest him of it of course. 

Ugh! Well, at least she knew what one of her personalities would be if she'd been the one split by the 0-8-4. And that one might be the leader.

"Okay, never mind. Fitz, can you set up the prism and make room for everyone in the lab while I go get the other ones?" she said, turning to Doc.

"On it!" He marched right back to the lab, grabbing a few things on the way before settling at his desk again. Focused and efficient, she did love that side of him a lot as well.

"I'll help you look for the Fitzes, we work better together," Romeo said, reaching for her hand. 

"No," she said firmly as she moved back. She felt a twinge of guilt at the look on his face. Any other day, she would have agreed with him but with seven of them acting a little unpredictably, she couldn't risk having one more of them disappear while searching for the others.

"We need all of you within range of the prism or it won’t work. Just like a regular prism needs all the colors of the rainbow to recombine them into white light. It’s better if you stay here and I bring back the others. But there’s something you can do to help," she added to soften the blow. "One of you should warn the team that they need to bring back all three Sharps. And make sure there’s only those three."

"Of course, don’t worry about it," Romeo replied, looking adorably happy to do something for her.

“I’ll take care of it,” Ego snapped. 

“Oh, just because you think you’re the boss, you should do everything?” Grumpy grumbled, making Ego huff. 

“Oh, like _you_ wanted to do it anyway?” 

Jemma let them decide amongst themselves who should do it and climbed up the stairs to the upper level. Not surprisingly, she found Snacky in the kitchen. Some stacks of pancakes were so high they looked to be on the verge of falling over. She didn't even know they had so much pancake mix on the plane.

"Fitz, we found how to put you back together but you need to join the others in the lab now."

"Oh good. I just need to make a few more batches. The team should be back soon and I'm afraid there won't be enough. Do you think I have the time to go out to get more pancake mix?"

"Fitz! There's enough to feed the whole Academy!" 

"But what if we're sent on a mission on the other side of the globe and we don't have time to stop by for groceries first. We'd be stuck with SHIELD rations and you know that's not—"

"Fitz," she said, her voice sweeter as she decided to change tactics. "If you go down now, I'll make us sandwiches when you've been put back together." 

"Sandwiches?" he repeated, his eyes lighting up like a kid on Christmas morning. "You mean—"

"You know exactly which sandwich I mean. And I just made a whole new jar of pesto aioli yesterday."

He looked down between the pancakes, the griddle and Jemma a few times then finally seemed to make a decision. "Let me clean up and I'll be down in five minutes."

"Perfect." If only things were always as simple as with this one. 

Okay, one down, two to go. She would deal with Horny later. She didn't need the extra distraction when Ego was already putting less than platonic ideas in her brain. The other Fitzes called the last one Bashful so she supposed it was the part of his personality who couldn't utter a single word to her during their first months at the Academy, and the result of his father's verbal abuse. God, if he'd really been alone for hours, she had to find him quickly. She could only imagine the terrible state he must be in, thinking he'd been abandoned, useless, or that he wasn't interesting enough for them to bother looking for him. 

Oh. Of course. 

A few months into their friendship, Fitz had finally opened up about his father. During the few months before his dad left, when things were really ugly, Fitz had gotten the habit of going to hide in the attic. The ladder leading there was old and not very sturdy so Fitz was the only one who ever went there. It was a sort of haven for him, away from all the shouting, where he could tinker with his gadgets and prototypes without his father mocking him. 

There wasn't an attic in the plane but she supposed the closest thing was the avionics bay.

* * *

Fitz sneezed as more dust flew into his face. He'd really underestimated how dirty it was in here. Jemma would be horrified but somehow he found it kind of… peaceful. Sinking to his knees, he grabbed an old rag and started working on the lower level where the communications equipment was plugged in. It had been clear from the moment they split up that the others didn't need him at all. At least here, he was doing something a little useful and not getting in the way of anyone. 

There was some noise in the hallway and someone opened the door.

"Fitz, are you in here?" 

It was Jemma. She was probably looking for another one. Doc or maybe the one who acted like he owned the place.

"Oh, there you are," she said and Fitz didn't look up, not wanting to see the look of disappointment on her face when she noticed which one he was. 

"There's just me. The others are probably in the lab or the briefing room."

"I know, I was looking for you."

"But why?"

"Why aren't you down there with the others?" she asked, her soft tone reminding him of when his mum asked why he didn't play in his room instead of the attic. The answer was pretty much the same.

"I'm useless Jemma, I'm better off cleaning the plane up here where I won't bother anyone."

"Oh Fitz, don't say that. Come back to the lab with me, we found a way to put you back together but you all need to be in the same place."

"See?" he said, chuckling humorlessly. "They don't need me and they're better off without me, really." 

" _I_ need you, Fitz," she insisted, sinking to her knees as well and forcing him to look up at her, with her face so close. She looked earnest. Wonderful, kindhearted Jemma. He didn't deserve her, never had.

"No, you need Engineer and the smug one, not me. Even Snacky's more useful than I am. And believe me, he, well they-they're better off without me. And you need a partner who's not constantly afraid of everything and everyone and who—"

Her lips were suddenly on his and it felt like Fitz's brain stopped functioning for a second. He'd daydreamed about it more than he cared to admit but this didn't feel like a daydream. It felt real and her lips were wonderfully warm and soft. And then it was over, as quickly as it had started. Her eyes were as wide open as his and Fitz was even more confused now.

"I'm sorry, I thought… It's just you, the other you, told me how you felt and I figured you did too but I-I—"

"What?"

"The other you, the one they call Romeo, he told me how you loved me and—"

"Oh... I'm sorry for that," Fitz mumbled, glad for the darkness hiding his blush. So this was a pity kiss of course. "Don't mind him. I would never have told you. I know you don't feel the same. It's alright Jemma, you deserve so much better."

"But I do love you, Fitz."

"Yeah, I know and I'm lucky to be your best friend. I don't expect more, I—"

"Not just as my friend. As... more than that," she insisted and her voice, full of passion and tenderness, gave him a sliver of hope.

He shyly looked up at her and she took the opportunity to put her hand on his cheek, her thumb lightly stroking under his eye. It was nice and soothing and Fitz melted into the touch, making him feel like things weren't quite so dark for a moment. 

"Do you believe me?" she asked softly.

"I do, it's just..."

"Then come back and get together with yourself."

"But this," he said, putting his hand over hers on his cheek for a second. "This is just more proof that they're better off without me. I'm the reason I couldn't tell you sooner."

"I don't care, Fitz. It's a part of you and I love you all. And a little doubt and caution isn't always bad. If you hadn't insisted on doing our biofuel experiment out in the open, the thing would have exploded in our faces!"

"It still exploded."

"Yeah, but we only damaged a few trees, and didn’t blow ourselves up along with the whole building." 

Fitz laughed. He supposed she wasn't wrong about that. And despite the severe reprobation they had to go through, it was still a good memory. And probably what motivated Coulson to ask them to join the team. Jemma must have noticed his mood lightening because she continued. 

"And have you met Ego you? If you don't reunite soon, he'll probably try to take over SHIELD. For starters. Not that you wouldn't be a great director, just—"

"I know, you have a much better chance at that than I do." 

Jemma laughed and tentatively slid her hand down his arm until their fingers were intertwined. 

"How about we start by putting you back together? And actually, I always pictured us being heads of the Academy someday." 

"Us?"

"Of course, you said it yourself. We do things better together."

"Yeah?" She flashed him a bright smile. "Yeah."

He still wasn't convinced it was a good idea to reunite with the others but Jemma seemed adamant on having all of him back together and when she was looking at him like that, he had no doubt she could convince him of anything. After all, he followed her into the field. Getting back into his own brain shouldn't be scarier than that.

* * *

The way Fitz held onto her hand tightly as they made their way out of the avionics bay filled Jemma with a deep sort of affection mixed with protectiveness she hadn't felt in a long time. Not that she didn't always feel affection for him but, with time, he'd gotten much better at hiding the most vulnerable parts of him. Seeing how she managed to get to him the way she did, she couldn't help thinking how helpful the 0-8-4 would be during therapy. How much easier would it be to help people heal psychologically if therapists could have a conversation with every different aspect of a person? 

When they made it back to the common room, Snacky was, unsurprisingly, still there making more pancakes. 

"Fitz!" Jemma admonished. "You promised you'd go down with the others." 

"I know, I know. I'm almost done. I couldn't let this go to waste," he said, nodding towards the now empty bowl with a sheepish smile before turning back to flip what where hopefully the last pancakes for today. Her stomach rumbled. It did smell awfully nice in here and she hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast. 

"Fine, but I'm not leaving here without you," she replied, before grabbing a pancake from the nearest stack. They were really quite delicious. 

"Mmmh," he mumbled over a mouthful of pancakes and Jemma rolled her eyes. 

"You know what too much sugar does to your liver, right?" Bashful said as he examined the nearest pile, hesitated then stepped back without touching it. "You remember the pictures, don't you?" 

Jemma did for sure. She'd gotten them from Google one night as they studied for their last SHIELD exam and Fitz's snacking had gotten out of control, but she didn't know it had made an impact on him. Snacky turned to them, a half eaten pancake in hand and heartbroken expression on his face. 

"It's not all for me, I'm sure the team will be hungry too." 

Again, he seemed to forget their team was only six people but that was sweet of him she supposed. 

"See," she said, bumping Bashful's shoulder lightly. "Your teeth would be filled with cavities if you weren't here to control the snacking." 

Or was it Ego making sure his nice dress shirts and trousers still fit the way they did? Ah, never mind. Snacky was finally cleaning up and Bashful wasn't leaving her side, she just had to find the last one and they'd be ready—

There was some noise in Fitz's bunk followed by a muffled curse. Ah, there he was. 

"You two stay here!” she said to Bashful and Snacky before stepping closer to the door. "Fitz, are you in there?" 

"Yeah… One minute…" he cried out, his voice sounding weirdly breathless through the door.

After a moment, the door opened just a few inches. He was definitely a little breathless and his cheeks flushed. 

"Everything alright?"

"What? Uh yeah… sure, I was hu… napping. You woke me up, that's all." 

That wasn't the face of someone who had just woken up, and with the way he'd been looking at her earlier, and still did, she knew exactly which aspect of his personality it was and what he'd been doing in there. He might be horny but he wasn't stupid and he had to know she knew. But she still bit her lip not to smile too wide and embarrass him. After all, she couldn't really blame him. She knew perfectly well there'd be a part of her doing exactly that if the machine had split her instead of Fitz. 

"Well, can you come down to the lab now? We found a way to put you back together but we need you all in the same place. Hopefully, we can do it before the team's back and… Fitz?" 

His gaze had dropped down and he had that look again. The one that made her want some time alone in her bunk or well, join him in his.

"Ah sorry," he said not able to detach his gaze from her cleavage. "You missed a button there." 

"Oh!" She quickly buttoned up her blouse. "It must have popped open while I was trying to find Fitz in the avionics bay."

"Mmmhh…"

"Fitz, are you coming?" 

"What?!" 

"Down to the lab?" 

"Oh… uh… sure. Just give me five minutes and I'll be—"

"No! Enough napping," she cut him off, grabbing his arm to pull him out of his bunk. He whimpered but at this point, she couldn't be sure what the reason for that was. Frustration or… something else. 

"Fitz?" 

"Yeah?" they all answered in synchrony. 

"The three of you, let's go before you get distracted again!"

* * *

One of the SUVs was parking inside the garage just as Jemma arrived on the bridge overlooking the garage, and another was already parked. May was busy making one of the Sharps get out of the car, rolling her eyes at how uncooperative he was being. Skye and Ward got out of the other car and opened the back doors, pulling two other Sharps, one looking smug for some reason and the other quite aggressive. Jemma let out a relieved sigh. The team had done a good job getting all three versions of the criminal. Before long he'd be back as one and so would Fitz and she could finally have a bit to eat, a little rest and a much needed conversation with Fitz. 

"I didn't expect you to be back so soon," Jemma said, starting down the stairs, the three Fitzes following her like little ducklings. "How did you find the three of them so—"

"What the hell?!" Skye cut her off, her eyes widening, catching the attention of Coulson, May and Ward. "What happened to Fitz?"

"What? Didn't he tell you?" Well, of course he hadn't told them or Skye and Coulson wouldn't have that look on their faces. Ward also looked mildly surprised and Jemma was pretty sure she saw a little twitch on May's face. 

"The experiment's all set up. Can we get to it already?" That was Doc. 

"Four?!" Coulson let out, his eyebrows almost up to his hairline at this point. 

"Fitz, you didn't tell them what happened?" Jemma insisted. 

"I just told them they needed to find the three Sharps and bring them here. They didn't need to know more," Ego said, coming out of a darkened corner of the garage. Did he have a tie earlier and how come he looked even more sophisticated with his sleeves rolled up like that? 

"Okay, so five?" Skye asked, carefully coming closer to Ego. "And who made that one the boss?"

"There are seven of them actually and they're all Fitzes," Jemma answered. "Fitz found out the hard way how the machine works and I think we found a way to fix it. Bring the Sharps into the lab and we'll explain."

They all turned to Coulson and he shrugged as he extended his arm towards the lab. Skye rolled her eyes.

"Who made _her_ boss?"

* * *

"So how come there are seven Fitzes and only three of that guy?"

"I supposed Fitz is a more… complex person than Mr. Sharp is," Jemma replied, a little smile pulling at her lips and Skye gave her that look. The one she'd given her every time she said something nice about Fitz since the mission in Ossetia. Except this time she couldn't really be annoyed by her friend because there was indeed something more than friendship on her mind now. 

"By the way, did you make sure there’s really just three of them?" Jemma asked before turning to Ego. “You did tell them we needed to make sure of that?”

"Well," Skye started before Ego had the time to answer. She took her phone out of her pocket, tapping a few things before looking up. "I still have an alert for his face coming from all the surveillance cameras in the country and we’ve had nothing since we caught those three so…" 

"Also, it won't work if they're not all together anyway so we’ll know soon enough. At least that's what the markings on the object suggest," Ego added. 

"Which makes complete sense, of course. Just like Fitz and I supposed, it works like a regular prism and you need all the … colors of a person’s rainbow to recombine them into one." 

"Oh right, that's such a beautiful way of putting it, Jemma," Romeo said with adoration in his voice as he came to stand closer to her, squeezing her shoulder gently. Which Skye, of course, didn't miss. Jemma tried her best not to blush or give him a too wide, adoring smile in response. If possible, she'd really like to have a chance to talk to him about their relationship before everyone found out about it. 

"And how did you even learn to read Asgardian?" Coulson asked, looking between Skye, Jemma and the several Fitzes with a little smirk. "And also, can you teach me?" 

"It's not that difficult. Well, for me at least," Ego replied. "It's very close to the viking runes alphabet so once you know that, it's just a matter of interpretation."

"Okay, another question then. When did your learn to read viking ru—"

"Hey, what's with all the pancakes in the kitchen?" Ward interrupted as he walked into the lab, one half eaten pancake in his hand. 

"Ah, that would be Snacky," Jemma replied and Skye burst out laughing. Even May had a little smirk on the corner of her lips. 

"Snacky?" she repeated. 

"Well there's seven of them, we had to come up with different names!" 

"Oh. Interesting! So who are they all?" 

"Oh. Well, this one's Snacky," Jemma said turning to where he was discreetly eating one of the Maltesers packs he thought Jemma didn't know he hid in the lab while giving Ward a rather nasty look that confused her. "This is Doc, the one—" 

"Doing all the science stuff," Skye finished for her. That was a little reductive but really not far from the truth and Jemma nodded. 

"This is Bashful," Jemma added, gently squeezing the arm of the one who'd been standing behind her the whole time. "And this is obviously—"

"Scary?" Skye suggested.

"What? He's not scary, he's just... confident," Jemma said, her eyes roving over Ego despite herself. He was leaning provocatively again. 

"Oh, I get it, this one's Sexy!" Skye said, grinning. She looked way too delighted by the situation. 

"That's Ego!" Romeo corrected, clearly jealous as he took yet another step closer to Jemma. Leave it to Fitz to be jealous of himself. 

"Oh no, Jemma definitely thinks it's Sexy."

“Skye, can we please focus on--”

“Also, what is it with you two and Snow White?”

“Nothing just... there were seven drones and now, there are seven Fitzes, it was just really obvious.”

“And I just love a classic fairy tale,” Romeo added. 

“Yeah, what we were supposed to call the drones anyway? Or each other?” Engineer said, tapping his fingers impatiently on the lab bench.

“The seven deadly sins?” Skye offered with a wide grin and Jemma sighed. She supposed they should have seen it coming. “Or the seven wonders of the world?” 

“Skye, please--”

“Actually, that’s not a bad idea,” Ego started. “I always thought--”

"No!” Jemma cut him off. “Let's just put them back together now. Come to think of it, I feel like it's an invasion of his privacy and we shouldn't—"

"Or maybe we should wait a bit and give you some alone time with your Fitzes," Skye cut her off and Jemma lost the fight against the flush attacking her cheeks. She had enough impure thoughts about each Fitz separately, she didn't need to imagine _that_. Turning around to look at the experiment Doc had set up on one of the lab tables to give herself an excuse to look away from her friend, Jemma caught Horny's gaze. He looked all jumpy and disheveled with his shirt out of his trousers but his heated gaze still managed to send a shiver down her spine.

"Skye, it's not like that, we're not—"

"Well if you don't think you have the stamina, maybe you could use the device too, give every one of them a Jemma to—"

"Skye!"

This time, Coulson and May joined her and Jemma let out a breath of relief as her friend pouted but didn't insist. She really didn't need her to know the two she hadn't introduced were Romantic and Horny.

"Thank you, sir. Now, if that's alright with you, we can proceed with the experiment. Put them back together before there's any ill effect." 

"Actually, shouldn't we try that on Sharp first?" Ward suggested.

"You want to test alien technology on a prisoner?" May said, lifting a slightly disapproving eyebrow.

"He did it first. And also, if something goes wrong, Fitz is the one we'll need to fix it." 

"That's actually not a bad idea," Coulson agreed. And honestly, Jemma felt a little guilty for thinking that but that guy was a criminal. The "best" of his main character traits was laziness so she'd really rather test their solution on him rather than Fitz. 

"Let's go then."

* * *

Ugh, did he really think he was heroic just because he offered to let the bad guy take the risk? Like there really was any risk to begin with. Fitz couldn’t believe he was the only one seeing him for the monster that he was. Acting like a perfect SHIELD agent but eating _his_ pancakes like it was nothing. After what he had done to his sandwich. The one that Jemma had made nonetheless.

Fitz knew the recipe and had done it for himself a few times but it was never as perfect as when Jemma did it, as if she had a secret ingredient she never told him about. He'd thought about keeping a piece and doing an analysis on it once but he could never spare a single piece. It was just too perfect. With his stomach rumbling so much, it was hard to focus on what Doc and Jemma were doing and Fitz's head snapped up just as they were pushing everyone but the three Sharps out of the lab. They couldn't have a whole team of SHIELD agents split into their main character traits. Imagine May's warrior side alone or worse, they could discover she had a hidden, fun side. That would be terrifying! 

Well, they would never get to know that because Doc and Jemma's solution worked perfectly. The three versions of Sharp had been gathered in front of the 0-8-4, leaving just enough space for the ray of white light to pass between them. As planned, when they activated the device, there was the same blinding white light coming out of it but this time, it hit the other prism placed behind the three men and hit them back. The light expanded through the whole lab like an explosion and Fitz recognized the shrill noise it had made when he used it. Ten seconds later, the 0-8-4 was back to normal and there was only one Sharp left. Jemma ran to check on him but he only seemed a bit disoriented and tired, which she attributed to one body having to adjust to the activity and memories of three people for a few days. 

Confident that they were no longer needed, May took Sharp to the holding cell —he was most likely going to sleep anyway— and Coulson went to his office to contact HQ and ask how they were supposed to deal with Sharp since he had no unusual ability. They'd still need to explain why there were three of him at some point. 

"Well, get on with it, Fitz, we don't have all day!" Ward said like he was the boss. And yeah, Fitz supposed he was in the absence of May and Coulson but still… Anyway, there was indeed no use in waiting and as soon as they were back together, Jemma could make him that sandwich she promised him earlier. But just as he was passing by Jemma's desk, he saw something in her paper bin that caught his attention. Could it be… Oh yes it was, on top of a few bunched up pieces of paper, there it was. One of his half eaten pancakes, the one Ward had in his hand earlier. He couldn't believe it, he—

"Well get a move on! What are you stopping for ag—"

Fitz's fist flew without him even making the conscious decision to do so. It hit Ward square in the jaw and to Fitz's surprise, the specialist lost balance and ended up on his ass on the floor of the lab.

There was a concert of gasps and "Fitz" coming from Jemma, Skye and some of the Fitzes. Ego, Grumpy and to his surprise, Romeo, actually had small smiles on their faces. 

"You just don't throw food away!" he explained to a wide eyed Jemma as Skye came to help Ward up, not looking too displeased for having to put her hands all over her S.O. 

"Oh, is that about the stupid sandwich again?" Ward barked and this time, one of the other Fitzes managed to hold him off before Snacky punched Ward again. 

"It's not any sandwich!" Fitz cried out and Jemma came to the rescue, taking his arm and pushing him towards the others who had assembled around the 0-8-4. 

"Ward, I'm sure Fitz is, or well will be, very sorry once he's fully himself again. In the meantime, I think we'll manage on our own here. You should go and put some ice on your jaw. It's turning blue already. Skye, why don't you help him?" 

"What? No, he doesn't need me for that. I want to—"

"Skye, please?" Jemma insisted in this soft but somehow very firm voice Fitz was too familiar with. Apparently, Skye wasn't better than him at resisting it and sighed as she left the room with Ward. 

"Well, good luck Fitz," Jemma said turning to all of them with a reassuring smile. "Just do exactly as Sharp and everything should be alright." 

"Of course, it will," Doc answered.

"We worked on it," Ego added. 

"Alright then," she said, walking towards the glass door before changing her mind and walking back to them, opening her arms. 

"Group hug?" she asked with the most adorable smile. Romeo didn't hesitate for a second and wrapped his arms around her, followed closely by Horny. "Oh, come on," she insisted when Snacky and the others hesitated. "I'll never have another chance to get a hug from seven versions of my best friend." 

Ah. He supposed he wouldn't mind having seven Jemmas in his arms. Snacky moved forward, giving her a sort of side hug as he decided to stay as far away from Horny as possible in those circumstances. Hugging Jemma was always nice. She was all soft and smelled of flowers. And now also a bit of pancakes. It was delicious. 

The hug ended after a moment and Jemma finally left the room. Fitz felt like one of them should say something before they activated the 0-8-4 but it wasn't like any of them were leaving. They were just getting back to their normal state. 

Doc was the one to activate the 0-8-4. Just like with Sharp, there was the blinding light, the high pitched noise and then it all crashed over him.

* * *

Fitz felt dizzy and exhausted as expected, but mostly, he had a massive impression of deja vu. He was getting all these new images and memories while feeling like it had already happened. Which was the case of course, except not really, not to all of him. As the light receded and the noise stopped, he had to hold onto the desk not to lose balance and Jemma was by his side before he knew it, her arms around his waist, holding him tightly. 

"Everything alright?" she asked, a little worry in her eyes. 

"Yeah just… strange… I guess." 

"And is all of you in here?" she asked, letting go of his waist to take his face in her hands and look at his eyes. Fitz chuckled. It was quite a big mess in his head so that probably meant it was back to normal. Things had certainly been simpler when his mind only had to focus on one thing at a time. 

"I think so yeah, although I wonder… Oh. Interesting." 

"What?"

"Looks like I owe myself fifty bucks." She raised an amused eyebrow. "I thought I would be the one to… hum I mean Ego me thought we'd be the one to "return" to."

"Oh, right," she said, giving him a quick once over. He'd noticed her giving that specific version of him several pointed looks earlier. Another side of him had been rather jealous. Now it made his heart feel all warm and reminded him of an important conversation they should have. "So do you know which one you returned to after all? I mean most of you wore these clothes so…"

"I do actually. Some of us got bored earlier and we decided to each tweak a thing or two about our look so that we-I would know." 

Jemma rolled her eyes but there was a smile tugging at her lips. 

"Ah, can't blame you. I would have probably done the same. So who won?" 

"The one we-they-I… Ugh, this is really weird!" 

She tilted her head to the side. 

"Aww, I know." 

"Anyway, it's um… Romeo," Fitz said, suddenly feeling a little shy. There was a reason he hadn't told her about his feelings before. Not that they were any weaker now that he was back to being in a single body but not every part of him was as confident as Ego. 

Jemma's smile widened. 

"Interesting. So the dominant character trait is romantic?" 

"We don't know that actually, it might just be the way we were positioned in front of the 0-8-4 or—"

"Still," she cut him off, biting her lip adorably. "It's sweet that it's your dominant side." 

"Is it?" 

"Yes…" Her hand slid down his arm to end up on his hand. She was standing a little closer to him than before and her eyes were completely enticing. Fitz intertwined their fingers together and her smile grew.

"So how did it go?" Skye cried out, bursting through the lab doors, and they both jumped a few feet apart. 

"Uh really nice, I mean… good, fine. Everything's alright. He's back to being one Fitz," Jemma blurted out as she tried to busy herself with cleaning everything up but looked like she was just moving things around aimlessly. God, he hoped his cheeks weren't as red. 

"Okayyyyy," Skye said, looking between the two of them with a mischievous smile on her face before she seemed to make a decision. "Well, Coulson said we had the night off, we're flying to the Hub first thing in the morning to get rid of Sharp and that thing," she said, pointing at the 0-8-4. 

"Oh thank god, I'm bloody exhausted," Fitz said, trying to bite back a yawn.

"Right, of course. Fitz needs to rest. Come on, I'll take you to your bunk," Jemma said, not even bothering to clean the rest of the lab and winding her arm around his waist. They looked awfully conspicuous but at this point, Fitz didn't even care. Skye had been convinced they were together since they met anyway and always gave him an eyebrow wiggle every time he watched a movie in his bunk with Jemma. 

"Sure… rest," she said. "Have a good night, you guys and—"

They were already out of the lab and walking up the stairs before Skye could finish her sentence.

* * *

Jemma closed the door to his bunk and came to sit next to him. They didn't move or say a thing for a moment and Fitz started wringing his hands in his lap. Maybe she was regretting what had happened and was trying to find a way to say it nicely. After all, his "full" self wasn't like his Romeo or Ego self. He had done the kind of things he'd always dreamed of doing but never had the courage to. Maybe she'd been swept up in the moment but now that he was back to normal, she was realizing that he was just her best friend and she liked it better that way. 

She put her hand on his to stop the wringing. 

"Fitz, we need to talk," she said and he looked up at her. She was smiling softly just like she did earlier when they were having a moment. But then again, she could be trying to let him down easy. 

She looked down at their hands and entwined her fingers through his before looking back up. "I want to give this, us, a try, Fitz." 

"Yeah?" 

"I meant what I said earlier, Fitz. I love you and I think there's at least a few parts of you who want to be with me and if that's enough then—"

He brought their entwined hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles. 

"Every part of me wants to be with you, Jemma."

"Really? Even Grumpy?"

"For him, you're a ray of sunshine in a world full of insufferable people," he replied with a crooked grin. 

A wide smile bloomed on her face. 

"Fitz, you hopeless romantic!" 

"No longer hopeless," he murmured as his other hand cradled her cheek tenderly. She sighed happily and their lips met halfway. 

She tasted of sugar, pancakes and perfection. He liked that she still held his hand and the way the other had slid up his hair sent delicious shivers down his spine. It was the best feeling in the world and yet... 

She pulled back, keeping her forehead against his for a moment as she sighed happily once more. 

"It's so strange," he whispered more to himself than her but her eyes shot open nonetheless. 

"What?! Did I um... did I do something wrong or—"

"No, no, no, it was… beautiful. Perfect. It's just that I remember kissing you and it feels new at the same time. it's confusing."

Her face relaxed into a happy smile. 

"Well, let's try some more then, I'm sure it'll become a habit."

And with that, she pressed her lips to his once more, barely capturing his lower lip between hers before letting go and Fitz whimpered.

"You're mad if you think I'll ever get used to that," he breathed out against her skin.

He gently swiped his thumb over her lips and she let out a small noise in the back of her throat. He'd always had a thing for her pretty, full lips. It went beyond the fact that he'd often thought of kissing her, he just loved her smile so much and the way it lit up her whole face. But now that he had kissed her, it was going to be hard thinking about anything else. But just as he was about to dive in for another one, a big yawn overtook him and she burst out laughing. 

"See, you're bored already." 

"No, I'm not I swear, I'm just so tired, I—"

"I know," she cut him with a gentle smile. "Get some rest. We have time." 

"Are you staying?" he asked, voice hopeful. He was indeed exhausted but now that he had her, he hated the idea of her being far away in her bunk when they had the night off for once. 

"Of course, I am."

Getting rid of his shoes, cardigan and shirt, Fitz settled against the wall and Jemma lay down beside him with her head on his chest and one arm across his torso. Her soft scent was slowly filling the air in his small bunk and he could feel himself drifting to sleep despite one nagging thought that wouldn't leave him alone.

"You know, it's a shame to give away the 0-8-4 so soon. It's got so much potential, maybe we could use the few hours we have before we take it to the Hub to make a few experiments on it, maybe just a scan of the surface or—"

"Sure... you do that. But I'm exhausted so I'll stay here," she trailed off as she stretched out her whole body, pushing her breast and other lovely parts of her body against his side. "Warming your bed while you're out there in the lab…" 

Her voice was unfairly enticing when it was all low from sleepiness and… hopefully something else. That was a new side of Jemma Simmons he needed to analyze and catalog for future reference. She settled against his chest again and looked up at him with a too innocent smile.

"You know what? I'm sure there are very competent scientists at the Hub!" And with that, he rolled on his side and pulled her closer to press his mouth to hers. His hand wandered over the smooth skin of her back bared by the thin camisole she had been wearing under her blouse. She let out a wonderful little noise when his fingers settled into her hair. She was right, they had time but that didn't mean they couldn't get a bit of a head-start on the future.

* * *

The next morning, Fitz woke up just as the sun was peeking over the horizon. It was still early but they'd fallen asleep before sunset. Jemma was pressed tightly against his side, her face buried in the crook of his neck where she'd laid many a kiss before succumbing to sleep. Her breathing started changing and Fitz knew for sure she was awake when her lips found his sensitive spot again, sending a delicious shiver down his spine. 

"I haven't slept so well in ages," she said, moving back a little to look into his eyes. 

"Told you I was good in bed," he replied with a crooked grin.

She giggled and stretched out lazily before sitting up. Fitz whimpered at the loss of warmth. He'd been hoping to sleep in just a little longer but there was already quite a lot of noise coming from the common area. He was used to May being up very early but she was usually silent as a cat. So it probably meant that at least Skye was up as well. So much for keeping their relationship discreet before they've had time to get used to it themselves. He really didn't want to go out and meet all the inquisitive and smug looks but, on the other hand, there was also a delicious smell sipping through the door of his bunk. Someone was re-heating the pancakes and there was coffee and tea too… His stomach rumbled. 

"Breakfast?" Jemma asked with an amused smile. 

"Yeah… I guess." 

Fitz put on a clean shirt and tried to put some order in his hair so, to a casual observer, it could look like he'd been up for a while. Jemma was a lost cause. Her hair was kind of a mess and her skin mostly makeup free. To him, she had never looked more beautiful but her blouse was a little wrinkled and even if she put one of his cardigans on top of it, they were living with spies. It would be clear as day that she'd spent the night in his bunk.

Oh well, better to get it over with sooner rather than later. They stepped out of his bunk and walked into the common room with all the casualness they could muster. Coulson wasn't there so that was that at least. But even May had the slightest grin when she looked up at them then back to her newspaper. Ward was sulking in a corner drinking coffee. Fitz supposed he should go and apologize considering the rather impressive bruise on his jaw but the specialist was avoiding his gaze it seemed, so that could probably wait. 

Skye, on the other hand, wasn't avoiding their gazes at all. She had the biggest Cheshire cat grin on her face as she greeted them with two plates filled with at least six or seven pancakes each. 

"Here you go sleepyheads. I thought you'd be famished this morning after the night—I mean the day you had." 

Fitz rolled his eyes.

"Skye, we just fell asleep while talking," Jemma said. And he supposed it was true although the talking had also involved a lot of kissing in between.

"Sure. Nothing like a nice… conversation to get sleepy."

"Oh just shut up," Fitz grumbled as he took the plates and went to sit at the table. 

"Maybe, we should have gotten rid of that one after all," Skye mumbled under her breath as she turned around to get a few more pancakes out of the toaster. Jemma took two teacups and joined Fitz at the breakfast table. She wiggled a bit on the small couch so that she could sit closer to him than she usually did. Under the table, Fitz took her hand. His heart filled with warmth and happiness when she squeezed back and gave him this new secretive smile he already loved.

"No Skye, I like my Fitz complete, grumpiness, ego and… everything else included."

And he was planning to spend the rest of his life discovering every little part Jemma Simmons was made of.

**Author's Note:**

> We hope you had as much reading this as we did planning it! You can find us all on our various Tumblr pages:
> 
> @blancasplayground  
> @LibbyWeasley  
> @agentofship
> 
> Feel free to stop by and say hello!


End file.
